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Friday, April 22, 2011

My visit to PADMANABHAPURAM Palace

The next experience im sharing here after returning from my native is my visit to "Padmanabhapuram palace" with my parents...several times i ve visited there before but this trip, happend after my marriage was a nice experience to enjoy with family...the palace is eco-friendly and even the floor and cot are madeup of some herbs..

The Padmanabhapuram palace is located in at Padmanabhapuram Fort, close to the town of Thuckalay(my native) in Kanyakumari Dist, TamilNadu...The palace was constructed around 1601 AD by Iravipillai Iravivarma Kulasekhara Perumal who ruled Travancore between 1592 AD and 1609 AD.

In the late 18th century, the capital of Travancore was shifted from here to Thiruvananthapuram, and the place lost its former glory..... However, the palace complex continues to be one of the best examples of traditional Kerala architecture, and some portions of the sprawling complex are also the hallmark of traditional Kerala style architecture....The PadmanabhapuramPalace complex consists of several structures...

the palace front view...

the palace verandah...

another view of verandah...

the wood carvings on the roof...

the wooden swing in the Queen's dressing room...

the palace stone toilet...

single wood pillar made of Jackfruit Tree...

the palace dining hall...

Ambari Mukhappu - Built for King to view chariot races...The structure built in the shape of Ambari, the seat put on the elephant back for safaris...

the palace's secret passage...

Polished stone cot, meant for cooling effect...

the padmanabhapuram palace king painting...

Cot made up of 64 wooden pieces of a variety of medicinal tree trunks...

the amazing work in the cot...

palace stone weight...the men's strength is checked here by lifting this stone for army selection...

Nataksala (Hall of performance)-This is a relatively new building, constructed at the behest of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, who reigned in Travancore from 1829 to 1846...There is a wooden enclosure, with peepholes, where the women of the royal household used to sit and watch the performancethe dance hall where the Raja will sit there and watch dance performances...wish i dance there and my hubby watches it :-)

Thooku-vilakku - Hanging Lamp...

the wooden carved window...

Mantrasala (Council chamber)-King’s Council chamber is the most beautiful part of the entire palace complex.... It has windows, with coloured mica, which keep the heat and the dust away....The floor is dark and is made of a mixture of varied substances, including burnt coconut shells, egg white and so on.... The remarkable aspect is that this particular floor finish and texture could not be duplicated in any other construction...

What a magnificent palace. I always loved the kerala architectural style. I love those verandas with those wooden passages. The first time I have seen them in a beach resort in Kerala I was awestuck. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Nisha , Thankyou so much for this information.I will surely visit the palace next week on my trip to Tamil Nadu.I will enjoy the vist here more now that I have seen the pics in your blog.Will let you know all abt it.:)

thanks 4 ur posting of palace pictures. actually i have worked in that palace four a period of 2 years. ur pictures reminds me nostalgic memories about the palace. i think that the one of the best picture is the front view of the palace with the mountain at the back. thak u a lotsouravt83@yahoo.co.in